


Maki

by ranissupercool



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Snakes, well. one snake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-12-16 01:46:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11818620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ranissupercool/pseuds/ranissupercool
Summary: Tsubasa invites Maki into her home for the first time.





	Maki

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic on AO3! It sure took me long enough! Also, if I get anything about snakes wrong, it's because the only things I know about them are from researching on wikihow for this fic. Hope you enjoy!

Tsubasa had to admit, she was a little nervous. She was inviting Maki Nishikino, her _crush_ , into her house for the first time, after all. No one else was home, so it was just the two of them. Alone.

Who wouldn’t be nervous in her situation? But she was Tsubasa, and Tsubasa was known for being cool! Always cool, never _un_ cool... She had to act the part, regardless!

Or at least make an attempt.

“So, this is my living room.”

“Mm,” Maki gave a short hum of acknowledgement, idly fiddling with a lock of her hair. Yes, this was her living room. That much was obvious. Idiot Tsubasa.

“A-And that’s the kitchen… There’s not really much to see there, but I can make some tea if you’d like?” Shoot, if only she’d known she’d be inviting Maki over today. If she did, she’d have bought some tomato juice beforehand; she knew Maki liked that.

“No thanks.”

Right. Well. “Then um… Well, just giving you a tour of the house wouldn’t be very interesting, so why don’t we just head straight to my room?” As soon as the words left Tsubasa’s mouth, she immediately regretted saying them. Maki blushed. Tsubasa blushed. That came out wrong. “I mean-- there’s something there I want to show you, so--” No, no, not helping! Tsubasa reached down and took Maki’s hand, pulling her along before she can protest.

She protested anyways, though, once they were up the stairs and Tsubasa had stopped them outside of her room. “H-Hey, wait, th-this is moving too fast! I don’t know if I’m ready for…” She gestured to the door vaguely. “Th-This...”

“E-Eh? For coming to my…?” Oh god, Maki really did misunderstand. “N-No, no no,” she quickly said, trying to keep her calm. “I-I just-- I didn’t mean… S-Sorry, could you please wait right here a minute? Don’t leave, okay?” With a startled and confused nod from Maki, Tsubasa let go of Maki’s hand and went into her room, closing the door behind her.

She let out a long sigh. That was so awkward… If Anju or Erena ever saw her acting like that…! Or even any of her fans! Especially her fans; if anyone saw that, they’d surely lose their respect for the cool and charming Tsubasa! She was scared to know what Maki might be thinking, as well. It couldn’t be good, could it…

Tsubasa shook her head. She needed to calm down and think rationally.

Okay, that _was_ pretty bad, but she knew people respected her enough not to think _that_ badly of her acting awkward in front of her crush. As for Maki… she _had_ been acting a bit curt since she’d gotten here. Tsubasa had no way of knowing what she was thinking, and it was a little worrying. Did she only agree to come in to be polite?

There was also another matter to be concerned about, she thought gloomily as she glanced to the tank across the room. It was going to be a little awkward to deal with...

She frowned and slapped her cheeks hard. _Try not to think so hard about it, Tsubasa. Just… do it!_ Honoka’s voice began cheering her on in her mind and she finally allowed herself a smile. She turned around and opened the door gently, moving to stick her head out and see if Maki was still there, but her head met with some resistance, and she looked up.

“E-Er, Tsubasa…”

...Whoops. Seemed she’d accidentally headbutted Maki in the side. “A-Ah. Sorry. Didn’t see you there.” She quickly straightens up.

Maki laughs. “I can see that.” Tsubasa grins at this, and Maki’s face becomes slightly pink. “Wh-What are you looking at me like that for…?”

“Hmmm? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Anyways, I just had to quickly clean up a little, so… come on.” She took Maki’s hand again, feeling more confident than before, and pulled her into the room. “Don’t be shy~”

“E-Eh? W-- Well, alright…” Maki allowed herself to be dragged inside and, though still appearing uncertain, looked over the room. Tsubasa had to admit, it was really nothing too special, but at least it was more than presentable. Just… average. “You have an A-RISE poster on your wall?”

“Ah. That… was the first time I saw merchandise for us. So of course I bought it. Still, it was really surprising back then… Anju, Erena, and I weren’t that well-known at the time, after all. But our popularity went up really quickly… Not as quickly as you guys, though,” Tsubasa said with a chuckle. She gestured to another poster which Maki turned her head to look at.

“μ's, really…?” As expected, a blush appeared on Maki’s face. How cute ♪

“Of course. They’re my two favorite school idol groups, after all.”

“A… A-Ah…” Maki looked down, away from the posters. Tsubasa giggled. “...A-Anyways, you said you wanted to show me something, didn’t you?”

“Oh, yeah. Could you come here a moment?” Tsubasa stepped over to the tank on the other side of the room and Maki followed, curiosity piqued. Tsubasa removed the lid and slowly, carefully pulled out the creature inside. She then turned back to Maki to reveal--

A snake. “Eek--!?” Maki let out a startled shriek and stepped back, which in turn made the snake twitch, also startled.

“M-- Maki?”

“Wh-What is that!?”

“She’s--”

“I mean-- I mean I know what it is, but why do you have that…!?”

Tsubasa really didn’t expect this sort of reaction. Sure, she hadn’t a way of knowing what Maki felt about snakes, but… “Sh-She’s my pet. I have a pet snake.” The snake, as well, Tsubasa could tell was becoming frightened; it had wrapped itself around one of her arms rather tightly. It was a bit uncomfortable, but she kept the smile on her face. “Maki, are… you scared?”

“Eh?” Maki froze. “I-I’m not scared… It’s just, snakes are kind of…”

“You’re scared."

“...I-I mean, it’s a _snake_ …” Maki pouted a bit and turned her head away, but she didn’t take her eyes off of it. ”How are you perfectly fine?”

“How? I have had her as my pet for a few years now, so it’s hard to really be afraid of her… Besides, she’s nice. You don’t need to be afraid, either.”

Maki frowned, unconvinced. “I-I don’t know… aren’t they dangerous? I mean, it’s practically strangling your arm!”

“Oh, if you know what you’re doing, it’s really nothing. She’s just a corn snake, too, so she’s easy to handle and not even venomous. I think she’s just scared from how loud you were being just now…"

“...O-Oh.” There was silence after that, Maki reluctant to get near and Tsubasa contemplating the situation. The grip on her arm began to relax, at the very least.

“So um… Do you wanna touch her?”

“N-No!”

“A-Ah… Th-That’s fine, that’s fine. You don’t have to. But uhm, please don’t yell so much. You’ll startle Maki-cha…” She abruptly shut up. Shit. Maki looked up at her.

“...What… did you just say?” Fuck. Tsubasa felt her face quickly begin to heat up. This was a really awkward time to make the mistake she just made. “Tsubasa, answer me.”

“H-Her name is Maki,” Tsubasa blurted out. “I-It doesn’t have anything to do with you or something creepy like that, I swear-- I-I named her that before I knew you… B-Before I even heard of you.”

The two both went quiet, Tsubasa silently cursing herself for getting all flustered again. After a minute or so passed with neither of them saying anything, she sighed and turned away, putting the snake back into its tank. It slithered out of her arms and into one of its hiding spots almost immediately, likely rather stressed by the awkward situation just then.

“...Did I scare it that much?” came Maki’s voice from close behind Tsubasa, startling her and causing her to look up behind her. Maki was peering at the tank over Tsubasa’s shoulder. Or rather, it might have been more accurate to say she was watching over her head. Maki was quite tall in comparison to Tsubasa.

Tsubasa certainly wasn’t complaining, even if she still was a little flustered. She hastily looks back down, embarrassed to look at Maki it that moment. “O-Oh, um… N-No, it’s normal for her to be wary or frightened when new people are around. I think she only wasn’t hiding at first because…”

“Because...?”

“W-Well… she might already be… used to hearing your voice… from time to time. I-I mean y’know, I listen to μ's sometimes, so… a-and your solos...”

“That’s…” Maki looks away for just a moment in apparent contemplation, then back to Tsubasa, face flushing slightly “Kind of embarrassing. But also flattering.”

“I-I mean, you are good. That much should be obvious, considering your popularity.” Maki snickers a little and, confused, Tsubasa turns to face her again. “Wh-What? Is something funny?"

“No, not at all. It’s just… you said it so matter-of-factly. It’s… cute.” Oh. Oh, gosh. Tsubasa definitely didn’t expect to hear that.

“Cute? Me? I… W-Well, I am an idol, so that’s only natural… but… thank you.”

Maki giggled this time, and she took Tsubasa’s hand into her own. “Well then, does the cute Tsubasa-chan want to hang out for a bit longer? I have time before I need to be back home.”

Aw, heck. Maki was just _trying_ to get Tsubasa flustered now, wasn’t she?

“Y… Y-You shouldn’t touch my hands right after I just handled a snake, you know,” she mumbled. “But… yeah. I’d like that.” The two smiled at each other, both rather sheepish. “...Let’s go wash our hands and maybe we can play some games or maybe watch a movie.”

\--

“So, Maki?”

“Mm?”

“...If you’re going to be… calling me cute and holding me in your lap like this,” Tsubasa said as she turned her attention away from the movie they were watching, “You should know that snakes like mine live for a pretty long time. You should try to get along with…”

“Maki?” Tsubasa couldn’t see Maki’s expression from her current position, but she could just tell Maki was smiling teasingly at her. “Mm… I guess… Maybe one of these days… or one of these years.”

“I-It’s not that scary.”

Maki suddenly blew some air against the back of Tsubasa’s ear, and Tsubasa squeaked loudly in surprise.

“M-Maki!” The culprit laughed and put her arms around Tsubasa.

“I’ll think about it~"

Tsubasa huffed at the vague response. However, she did find herself smiling as well. “...I’m sure you will.”


End file.
